Marcus Aurelius

Heavily researched. Expansive historical contexts. Balanced in presenting the person of Marcus Aurelius. Use on correspondence with others.

Marc-Aurèle réalisa le rêve de Platon: celui du roi-philosophe. Empereur par décision d'Hadrien, stoïcien par goût, soldat par nécessité, l'illustre romain est une figure majeure de l'histoire universelle. A. Birley lui consacre un ouvrage magnifique qui comblera les désirs de l'honnête homme soucieux de s'instruire. Bravo!

FAST delivery; VERY happy with my order!

It is nice to lear and to better know Marcus Aurelius from other sources than “Meditations”. I like the approach used for notes and references.

The author, a historian at the University of Dusseldorf, presents a readable biography of Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor.Marcus Aurelius was born into a distinguished family in the early 2nd Century AD. His father died when he was young, and he was taken into the household of the Emperor Hadrian. Even at a young age, Marcus Aurelius impressed those who came into contact with him. He was adopted by Antoninus Pius, who followed Hadrian as Emperor.Antoninus gradually promoted Marcus to essentially co-emperor status, and upon his death both Marcus and his adoptive brother Lucius became co-emperors. However, Lucian was a different kind of person from Marcus -- more sensual, more emotional, and perhaps more power hungry. He died a few years after becoming emperor, and Marcus spent the last decade or so ruling alone.Ironically, despite his peaceful and philosophical nature, Marcus's reign was marked by violent conflict -- mostly against barbarians in central and southeastern Europe, but also rebellions from military commanders in the Middle East. It was during these long military campaigns that Marcus wrote his famous work, "Meditations".I deduct one star because of the author's frequent digressions into discussing the family relationships of various individuals.